EU carbon tax stand irks BASIC ministers
Basic ministers of environment from China, Brazil, South Africa and India have jointly condemned the unilateral decision of the European Union to impose a carbon tax on airlines in the guise of climate change.
Talking tough on this issue of the EU’s emission trading scheme, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan minced no words when she said: “Such a unilateral trade action taken by the EU will seriously jeopardise international efforts to combat climate change.”
China has been in the forefront in this campaign to abolish this tax and Chinese minister Xie Zhenhua warned, “The EU appears to be stubborn but we remain firm in our opposition to it.”
While the ministers welcomed the outcome of the Durban climate meet, Mr Alfred James Wills, chief climate negotiator of South Africa, insists the post-Durban phase would prove critical.
“We have to understand what trajectory the countries will take to arrive at the numbers required to cut greenhouse gases. It is about pledges they put on the table,” said Mr Wills.
He added that Basic is not a negotiating group. “We are part and parcel of G-77 and all our recommendations are included in the G-77 group and China,” he added.
The minister welcomed the agreement on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and stressed that the Annex-1 nations would have to provide information on their quantified emission reduction objectives by May 2012. non-KP Annex-1 parties would also need to undertake comparable commitments.
Mr Francisco Gaetani, Brazil’s deputy minister of environment, reiterated how the Basic nations were united in basic principles which stressed “on social inclusion and ecological concern”.
The ministers regretted the Canadian decision to withdraw from KP and called upon Canada to reconsider its decision.
“Even if a country leaves the KP, it cannot do anything to undermine it. We will need to find a way for the future international system to include Canada and the US. These are challenges that lies before us,” Mr Wills added.
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